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Professional Circumstances and the Decision to Run for Office
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
Heading into the 2010 midterm elections, journalists, pundits, and bloggers regularly commented on what appeared to be a proliferation of business executives running for high-level office, especially on the Republican side of the political aisle. “Business Backgrounds Are Working for First-Time GOP Candidates” graced the front page of the Washington Post. The Hill recognized the phenomenon when it ran a story titled “Republican Candidates Moving from the Boardroom to the Campaign Trail in ’10.” National Public Radio wondered, “Do CEOs Make Good Politicians?” And Newsweek featured a piece titled “America, Inc: A bumper crop of CEO politicians are campaigning to run the country like a bottom-line business.”
From California to Connecticut, former business executives threw their hats into the ring and competed in several of the highest-profile races across the country. Former CEOs Meg Whitman (eBay) and Carly Fiorina (Hewlett-Packard) secured the Republican nominations for governor and U.S. Senate in California, respectively. Republican Linda McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, vied to become the next U.S. senator from Connecticut. Plastics magnate Ron Johnson defeated three-term incumbent U.S. Senator Russ Feingold in Wisconsin. Former Gateway CEO Rick Snyder was elected governor of Michigan.
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